Swimmer Adam Rahier blew fans out of the water at the 2014 Pan Pacific Para-Swimming Championships in Pasadena, California during the summer.
He broke a Canadian record in his 200-metre Individual Medley (IM), with the best time he has ever achieved in that event. He and his teammates beat two world records in their relays. And Rahier, who grew up in Powell River, made personal best times in his other five events.
Last month Rahier and his colleague from Surrey Knights Swim Club were co-winners of Swim BC Male Para-Swimmer of the Year Award. The wins attest the hard work Rahier has put into training over the last 20 months, and indicate his rise in Canadian ranks and toward his goals.
Rahier quoted swimmer Micheal Phelps: “If you want to be the best, you have to do things other people aren’t willing to do.” For Rahier that means training hard every day. Every week he trains in the pool nine times over six days; he works in the gym three times, and practices yoga two times a week.
“Yoga is so important,” said Rahier. “In sport, balance is everything. And yoga helps calm our minds. Really hard training can be tough, so we learn to take a breath and let it go. Yoga training helps for those who might get frustrated, too.”
Rahier is famous for his positive thoughts. A favourite saying of his is: “Try your best and have fun and you will never be disappointed.” But when he did not make the Canadian team for the 2012 Paralympic Games his saying was tested. “I was a bit disappointed,” admitted Rahier. “But I never shed a tear. I had to try to let it go and move on and keep moving forward. It doesn’t change my spirit.”
If anything, the experience strengthened his spirit. Rahier remembered a coach he had worked with in Dusseldorf in 2010 when Team Canada was preparing for the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) worlds. Coach Reginald Shaw had given gave him good pointers to improve his stroke and Rahier decided to work with him again. “I wanted to get a bit better to make the next Olympics,” said Rahier. So he moved to Surrey to work under Shaw in the Surrey Knights Swim Club. Since joining them January 2013 Rahier has been learning the team’s routine and working toward long smooth strokes.
“Racing keeps you focused,” said Rahier. “Sometimes having your heart pounding means that you are going to go as fast as you can, but keep yourself calm. You should only get excited at the end.” When he is waiting at the start of a race Rahier thinks about his family and friends and team mates that are depending on him to do his best. Rather than make him nervous he says that it gives him courage to know they are with him all the way. “And at the end of the race, when you feel you have done a good job,” he said, “you can let out your victory roar.”
Team, friends and family are important to Rahier “Without their support I wouldn’t have accomplished these results.” He visited family in Powell River at Thanksgiving.
“The Powell River [Recreation] Complex has been very kind to me,” he said. “I remember long years of swimming. I have known that pool for a long, long time. And they are good memories.” Rahier started swimming there at the age of four and was a strong member of Powell River Swim Club. He also thinks about how much he has changed since those days at the Powell River pool. “Since I started to swim competitively in 2000, things are completely different,” he said. “I have learned many things: different stroke techniques, breathing patterns and, of course, turns.”
Training and supportive friends will continue to propel Rahier through the next two years. Rahier is set to swim in the Can Am Swim Championships in Edmonton in December. He has pre-qualified for both the IPC Swimming World Championships in Glasgow and the Para Pan Am Games in Toronto next summer. And the long goal? A hope to be at the Paralympics in Rio, 2016.
